


The Girl Who Took Three

by three_things_sid



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Gen, Revenge, Siblings, Time Travel, What-If, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-09
Updated: 2012-02-09
Packaged: 2017-10-30 20:45:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/335882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/three_things_sid/pseuds/three_things_sid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arya Horseface would call him a lying liar who lies, Arry the Orphan Boy would tell him to <i>fuck off</i> and Beth the Beggar Girl would ask <i>how</i>, but no one knows better. She has learned that, just like nothing is certain, anything is possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Girl Who Took Three

**Author's Note:**

> Contains spoilers for ADWD.
> 
> Written for a challenge at throneland(LJ).  
> Prompt: _A character discovers a method of single-way time travel to the past, but can only do it once. Who is it and when do they choose to go?_
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm [on tumblr](http://three-things-sid.tumblr.com/) now, in case you want to say hi.

*****

When the Kindly Man first tells her, she thinks she must have misheard, must have misunderstood somehow.  
There is no way this is possible, but she knows better than to let the doubt show on her face. 

Arya Horseface would call him a lying liar who lies, Arry the Orphan Boy would tell him to _fuck off_ and Beth the Beggar Girl would ask _how_ , but no one knows better. She has learned that, just like nothing is certain, anything is possible.

She know that she shouldn't care, because there are preparations and instructions. There is a plan. It's not for her to decide who deserves the gift. 

But something inside her changes, grows stronger. The part of her that still lists names in the dark: _Queen Cersei, Ser Gregor, Dunsen, Raff the Sweetling, Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn._  
The part that she tried so hard to leave behind, the part that remembers _everything_. And, suddenly, remembering is all she can do. 

She sees Sansa, eating one of her stupid lemon cakes, when she helps in the kitchen. (Sansa who lied. Sansa who begged for mercy, and got their father's head instead.)  
One of the boys she prepares has Bran's eyes, kind and clear. (Bran who wanted to be a knight. Bran who fell and broke.)  
Whenever she closes her eyes at night, she sees Robb, with snow in his hair, smiling and waving goodbye. (Robb who became king. Who was _so close_. Who will never smile again.)  
In her dreams, she hears Rickon's cries, cries for their mother and their father, who can't hear him anymore. (Rickon who is just a babe. Who probably won't remember any of them a year from now.)

It's not a decision she makes, it's not a choice, it's the only option. The only way. She has learned a lot, her face doesn't betray her when the time comes. 

The Kindly Man tells her where to go, tells her to think _Quarth_ and to picture the woman they showed her as she turns her coin, but she doesn't listen. She closes her eyes, and all she can see is _his face_ , all she can think is _Harrenhal_ and _please, please, please_.

When she opens them again, she is surrounded by darkness. At first, she thinks that something went wrong. That somehow, it didn't work, but then, she hears a whisper. “A man pays his debts. A man owes three.” Relief washes over her. Jaqen is right next to her, she doesn't see, but she can feel him now. “Only death may pay for life, and this girl took three that were his. This girl must give three in their places. Speak the names, and a man will do the rest.”

This time, she is prepared. She knows what to say. “Tywin Lannister and Walder Frey.” 

She hopes that this changes everything, but she saves the last name, just in case.


End file.
